Ritual. (Master's Hammer album)
| Ritual. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 1991 (Czech Republic) 1994 (worldwide) | |||
| Recorded | 5–9 December 1990 at Studio C | |||
| Genre | Black metal | |||
| Length | 40:03 (vinyl) 50:25 (CD) | |||
| Label | Monitor (Czech Republic) Osmose Productions (worldwide) | |||
| Producer | Miloš Doležal | |||
| Master's Hammer chronology | ||||
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Ritual. is the debut album by Czech black metal band Master's Hammer, initially released through independent label Monitor in 1991. It was later distributed elsewhere and re-released in CD format by Osmose Productions in 1994; Osmose's version contains two bonus tracks. Many tracks of the album were re-recorded from their 1990 demo tape The Fall of Idol.
The track "Jáma pekel" would eventually be re-recorded for Master's Hammer's 2009 album Mantras.
Music videos were made for the tracks "Černá svatozář"[1] and "Géniové".[2]
The track "Útok" was dedicated to Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey.
Covers[edit]
Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth covered "Jáma pekel" on their 2008 EP Ezkaton. Their version counted with a guest appearance by Root vocalist Jiří "Big Boss" Valter.
Critical reception[edit]
The band once claimed that Ritual. sold over 25,000 copies in the Czech Republic alone.[3] It is considered to be one of the major albums responsible for defining the early Czech black metal scene of the late 1980s/early to mid-1990s, alongside Root's Zjevení (1990) and Maniac Butcher's Barbarians (1995).
Rock Hard magazine featured Ritual. on their list "250 Black Metal Albums You Should Know".[4]
Fenriz of the band Darkthrone called it "the first Norwegian black metal album, even though they are from Czechoslovakia".[5]
Track listing[edit]
All lyrics are written by Franta Štorm; all music is composed by Master's Hammer (Štorm, Necrocock, Monster, Mirek Valenta and Silenthell)
| No. | Title | English title[6] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "King of the Bohemian Forest (Intro)" (instrumental) | 0:52 | |
| 2. | "Pád modly" | The Fall of the Idol | 6:29 |
| 3. | "Každý z nás...!" | Each of Us...! | 3:30 |
| 4. | "Ritual" (instrumental) | 3:16 | |
| 5. | "Géniové" | Wizards | 5:06 |
| 6. | "Černá svatozář" | Black Halo | 5:33 |
| 7. | "Věčný návrat" | Eternal Return | 3:24 |
| 8. | "Jáma pekel" | Hell's Mouth | 4:18 |
| 9. | "Útok" | Attack | 7:31 |
| No. | Title | English title | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Zapálili jsme onen svět" | We Have Burned the Other World | 4:36 |
| 10. | "Vykoupení" | Deliverance | 5:34 |
Personnel[edit]
- František "Franta" Štorm – vocals, guitars, photography, cover art
- Tomáš "Necrocock" Kohout – guitars
- Tomáš "Monster" Vendl – bass
- Miroslav "Mirek" Valenta – drums
- Honza "Silenthell" Přibyl – timpani
- Vlastimil "Vlasta" Voral – keyboards
- Milan Fibiger – bass (on tracks 6, 7, 8 and 10)
- Miloš "Dodo" Doležal – production
References[edit]
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z42uQ0qZqpo
- ^ Master's Hammer – Géniové
- ^ Kühnemund, Götz. "Master's Hammer. The Jilemnice Occultist". Rock Hard (73). Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "250 Black-Metal-Alben, die man kennen sollte". Rock Hard (269): 75. October 2009.
- ^ Fenriz (21 November 2009). "Darkthrone Biography and Video Clips by Darkthrone on MySpace". Myspace. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ The Heretic's Torch: Master's Hammer English Language Translations
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